8799953

Media Content Distribution Systems and Methods

PublishedAugust 5, 2014
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Patent Claims
17 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.

Claim 1

Original Legal Text

1. A method comprising: receiving end-user-provided media content with a World Wide Web media content distribution platform; distributing the end-user-provided media content via the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; receiving end-user-provided ratings of the distributed end-user-provided media content with the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; automatically selecting, by a platform linking subsystem based at least in part on the end-user provided ratings and without end-user input, at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content distributed via the World Wide Web media content distribution platform first; and transmitting data representative of the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content to a subscriber television content distribution platform.

Plain English Translation

A method for distributing user-created media involves a website where users upload videos and rate each other's content. A separate system automatically picks videos from the website based on these user ratings, without requiring any manual selection. Data representing the selected videos is then sent to a cable/satellite TV platform for broadcast or on-demand viewing.

Claim 2

Original Legal Text

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the World Wide Web media content distribution platform subscriber television content distribution platform utilize diverse media content distribution platforms to distribute the end-user-provided media content and the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The website and the TV distribution platform (cable, satellite) are different systems that use different ways of distributing the content. The website might use streaming over the internet, while the TV platform uses broadcast or multicast.

Claim 3

Original Legal Text

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatically selecting of the at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content is further based on a time allotment condition for the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selection process also considers how long the video is, ensuring it fits within a specific time slot. This time allotment is used in addition to user ratings when choosing videos.

Claim 4

Original Legal Text

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the time allotment condition defines a maximum playback duration for the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 3 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selection process considers a time limit, a maximum playback duration, for the selected user videos, meaning the selected video length cannot exceed a specified time.

Claim 5

Original Legal Text

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the maximum playback duration is based on a length of time spanned by a programming time slot within a media content transmission schedule utilized by the subscriber television content distribution platform.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 4 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selection process considers a time limit for the video based on the TV schedule. The maximum duration of selected user videos is determined by the length of a programming slot on the cable/satellite TV platform. If a TV slot is 3 minutes long, then selected user videos must be 3 minutes or less.

Claim 6

Original Legal Text

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatically selecting of the at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content is further based on at least one of a media content category condition and a geographic location condition for the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selection process considers other criteria: the category of the video (e.g., comedy, news) and the geographic location of the video's creator or subject matter, in addition to the user ratings when choosing videos.

Claim 7

Original Legal Text

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content comprises a subset of the end-user-provided media content having relatively higher-value end-user-provided ratings than a remainder of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The videos that are selected for TV are those with the highest user ratings on the website. Only the best-rated videos are transferred to the TV platform.

Claim 8

Original Legal Text

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatically selecting comprises utilizing metadata associated with the end-user-provided media content to select the at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selection process uses metadata associated with the user-created videos, such as title, description, tags, or any other information about the content, to help in automatically selecting the subset of videos for TV distribution.

Claim 9

Original Legal Text

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving bids for placement of advertising content; selecting an advertisement from the advertising content based at least in part on the bids for placement of the advertisement content; appending the advertisement to the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content; and distributing, by the subscriber television content distribution platform, the advertisement with the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1, which sends user-created videos from a website to a TV platform, is improved with advertising. Advertisers bid to have their ads shown. The best-bidding ad is added to the user-created video selected for TV. The combined ad and user video are then shown on the TV platform.

Claim 10

Original Legal Text

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: charging a fee for placement of the advertisement; and tracking a division of revenue from the fee between at least one user who provided the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content and an operator of the subscriber television content distribution platform.

Plain English Translation

Building on the advertising feature of claim 9, the method charges advertisers for showing their ads with user-created videos on TV. The money earned from the ads is split between the original video creator and the TV platform operator, creating a revenue-sharing model.

Claim 11

Original Legal Text

11. The method of claim 1 , tangibly embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one computer-readable medium.

Plain English Translation

The media content distribution method, where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings, is implemented as a software program. This program is stored on a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., hard drive, SSD, flash drive) and can be run on a computer or server.

Claim 12

Original Legal Text

12. A system comprising: a World Wide Web media content distribution platform that receives and distributes end-user-provided media content and end-user-provided ratings of the end-user-provided media content via the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; a subscriber television content distribution platform diverse from the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; and a platform linking subsystem communicatively coupled to the World Wide Web media content distribution platform and the subscriber television content distribution platform, the platform linking subsystem configured to automatically select, based at least in part on the end-user-provided ratings of the end-user-provided media content and without end-user input, at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content distributed via the World Wide Web media content distribution platform, and publish the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content for distribution via the subscriber television content distribution platform.

Plain English Translation

A system for distributing user-generated media includes a website, a cable/satellite TV platform, and a linking component. The website lets users upload videos and rate them. The TV platform is separate from the website. The linking component automatically selects videos from the website, based on user ratings, and makes them available for distribution on the TV platform.

Claim 13

Original Legal Text

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the subscriber television content distribution platform distributes the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content by at least one of broadcasting and multicasting the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content to a plurality of set-top boxes.

Plain English Translation

The system of claim 12 describes a system containing a website, a TV platform, and a linking component. After the linking component selects user videos for TV distribution, the TV platform distributes them to viewers. This distribution can be done by broadcasting (sending to everyone) or multicasting (sending to specific groups) the videos to set-top boxes (cable boxes).

Claim 14

Original Legal Text

14. A method comprising: receiving end-user-provided media content with a World Wide Web media content distribution platform; distributing the end-user-provided media content via the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; receiving end-user-provided ratings of the distributed end-user-provided media content with the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; automatically selecting, by a platform linking subsystem without end-user input, a subset of the end-user-provided media content distributed via the World Wide Web media content distribution platform; transmitting, by the platform linking subsystem, the selected subset of the end-user-provided media content to a subscriber television content distribution platform; and distributing the selected subset of the end-user-provided media content to one or more media content access subsystems via the subscriber television content distribution platform; wherein the automatically selecting of the subset of the end-user-provided media content is based at least in part on the subset of the end-user-provided media content having relatively higher-value end-user-provided ratings than a remainder of the end-user-provided media content, and at least one of a maximum playback duration, a media content category condition, and a geographic location condition for the selected subset of the end-user-provided media content.

Plain English Translation

A method for distributing user-created media involves a website and a TV platform. Users upload and rate videos on the website. A system automatically picks videos from the website, based on high ratings and also considering other constraints: a maximum video length, a video category (e.g., comedy), and a geographic location. The selected videos are then sent to the TV platform and distributed to media content access subsystems.

Claim 15

Original Legal Text

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising distributing the data representative of the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content to one or more media content access subsystems via the subscriber television content distribution platform.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 1 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. Data representing the selected videos is then sent to a cable/satellite TV platform. The videos are then distributed from the TV platform to one or more media content access subsystems.

Claim 16

Original Legal Text

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the distributing of the data representative of the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content via the subscriber television content distribution platform comprises transmitting the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content via a predetermined media content carrier channel with the subscriber television content distribution platform.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 15 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selected videos are transmitted on the cable/satellite TV platform using a specific, designated channel.

Claim 17

Original Legal Text

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the transmitting the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content via the predetermined media content carrier channel comprises at least one of broadcasting and multicasting the selected at least a subset of the end-user-provided media content via the predetermined media content carrier channel.

Plain English Translation

The method of claim 16 describes a process where user-submitted videos are uploaded to a website, rated by users, and automatically selected for TV distribution based on those ratings. The selected videos are transmitted on the cable/satellite TV platform using a specific, designated channel. Distribution through the designated channel occurs either through broadcasting the selected content or multicasting the selected content.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

Unknown

Publication Date

August 5, 2014

Inventors

Japan A. Mehta
Shafiq Kassam
Shahzaib Zafar
Enrique Ruiz-Velasco

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MEDIA CONTENT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS